Sanford Speaks Out is the latest blog sensation written, edited and produced by Sanford D. Horn, a writer and educator. Sanford will write about issues of the day covering a myriad subjects: politics, education, culture, sports, religion and even food.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Media Needs Trump More than Trump Needs Media

Media Needs Trump More than Trump Needs Media

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

January 27, 2017

Prior to unleashing the onslaught of executive orders,
Barack Obama reminded the Republicans in Congress and the American people, that
he was armed with a pen. Actually it seemed more like a threat. Now that there’s
a new sheriff in town, President Donald Trump is armed with Twitter. It is fair
to suggest the media needs Trump more than Trump needs the media.

While the war of words continues to be waged between the
White House and the Fourth Estate, there is something to Trump’s oft-asserted
view that the media is generally dishonest. Include overwhelming left wing bias and overt hostility along with the dishonesty.

One of Thomas Jefferson’s more frequently cited quotes is:
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without
newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment
to prefer the latter.”

That was prior to Jefferson ascending to the White House.
Six years into his administration he said: “Nothing can now be believed which
is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that
polluted vehicle.”

The media consists of reporters, editors, producers,
photographers, and editorialists. Regardless of the medium – print, electronic,
audio, or video, journalists have an obligation and onus to provide truthful
information to the people they serve. Yes, they provide a service, a service
than can be acquired in many forms and venues should one source prove irresponsible
or incapable of delivering an honest product to its consumers. Reporters
report. They should not submit creative writing for public consumption.

Unless stated as an opinion journalist, the reporter has
an obligation to provide factual data, not opine, or serve as an activist entity.
Opinion should not appear on page one of a newspaper – that’s the purpose of
editorial pages. When a Sean Hannity or a Rachel Maddow go on the air, it is to
opine about the events of the day, week, or administration. The same is true of
talk radio, whether from the left or the right, as well as editorial pages of
newspapers. More and more news magazines are typically known for their bent, be
it a conservative The Weekly Standard
or a liberal The Nation, but its
readers are more often than not aware of the leanings and know what they are
getting into.

When it comes to reporting on the affairs of state, the
business of the American government, whether from the Capitol Building, the
Supreme Court, or the White House, not only should reporters play it strictly
straight, but places like the White House have the right to vet any and all
media outlets. The White House press corps should no more have given Barack
Obama as many passes as it did during the last eight years as it should not
stray from facts when covering the Trump administration.

Having a seat among the White House pool of reporters is
not a birth right. If the White House determines a particular media outlet is
not honest or fair, that outlet should be punished by losing its White
House press credentials and it can then be given to another outlet. If there is
a minor infraction, perhaps a suspension. The White House, under any
administration, has the right to determine who has access and who does not. Who
decided The New York Times should
always be front and center in the White House press room? The Gray Lady is most
certainly not the reliable media icon the mainstream media purports it to be.

The New York Times
is not the only media outlet treading troubled waters. Zeke Miller, the White
House pool reporter for Time falsely
reported on Trump’s Inauguration Day that the new president had the bust of the
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. removed from the Oval Office. That report
spread like wildfire and picked up by roughly 3,000 other media outlets before
it was determined to be inaccurately reported. The correction was so small it
required a microscope to see. Intentional or unintentional, the Miller report
could only damage Trump’s reputation, and worse, his relationship with
African-Americans, which could best be described as tenuous at the outset. While
Miller later apologized for the miscue, the damage had been done. For this
infraction, Miller’s and for that matter, Time’s
press credentials to the White House should be pulled – at least temporarily.

Perhaps more egregious was CNN’s Jim Acosta who was over
the top rude during one of Trump’s earliest media sessions with his constant
haranguing, interrupting, and hectoring Trump for a question, as well as rude
to NPR reporter and Fox News contributor Mara Liasson during that same tirade.
The Trump White House should have made an example of Acosta by pulling his
White House press credentials and barring CNN for a couple weeks. Put the rest
of the media on notice – their seats are not permanent and incorrigible
behavior will not be tolerated.

Make room for members of the media who might not
ordinarily get the opportunity to be a part of the White House press pool. For
every New York Times there’s an El Paso Times on the outside looking in.
The idea posed by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to have satellite
pool members is a dandy notion. This gives opportunities to those who are from
smaller media outlets and can’t afford to travel to Washington to participate
in the press process.

Former New York
Times Washington bureau and investigative reporter Judith Miller summed it up
well on Fox News, Friday, January 27. There should be “fewer tweets, more
reporting, ramp back the ego, and get on with our work,” Miller chided the
media in general. “We benefit no one getting into a spitting contest with the
White House. We should concentrate on better reporting, more accurate
reporting, fewer instances of spin and opinion,” said the Pulitzer Prize
winner.

“At several papers, reporters have had to be admonished
to keep their opinions to themselves when they are doing, quote, straight
journalism. I’m an opinion journalist – so I can have an opinion openly – but if
you are a reporter covering the White House, I don’t want to see snarky stuff from
you on Twitter. The White House has a point. We ought to listen more. If we
listen more, we’re going to learn more and we’re going to do a better job at
bringing the facts that the American people are going to need to be able to
make a judgment about how the White House and Donald Trump are doing,” said
Miller. This is the same Judith Miller who spent 85 days in jail in 2005 on
contempt of court charges protecting the identity of a source. (There is no
relation between Judith Miller and Zeke Miller.)

A good journalist does not inject him or herself into the
story. A good journalist does not opine within a news report. A good journalist
is honest and accurate in all reports. A good journalist abides by a source’s request to remain off
the record. Having been a part of the media in one manner or another for 20
years, there is a fast learning curve. A trust relationship must be nurtured
for it can be lost in an instant and is virtually impossible to rebuild. If the
people can’t trust you, your career will flounder and flounder fast. Whether
writing a blog, reporting for a local newspaper, the Associated Press, or part
of the White House press corps for a major outlet like The Washington Post or Fox News, you are only as trustworthy as
your words say you are. There is nothing wrong with the White House holding the
media as accountable as the general public holds the White House.